2081 (movie)
2081 is a science fiction short film set in 2081. It was shown for the first time at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 29, 2009. Chandler Tuttle wrote and directed the film. It is based on the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by author Kurt Vonnegut. There are few actors in the film. The Kronos Quartet and Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra performed thesoundtrack written by Lee Brooks.[1]
| 2081 | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Chandler Tuttle |
| Produced by | Thor Halvorssen |
| Screenplay by | Chandler Tuttle |
| Based on | "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Patricia Clarkson |
| Music by | Lee Brooks |
| Cinematography | Austin Schmidt |
| Edited by | Chandler Tuttle |
Production company | Halvorssen/Tuttle Productions |
| Distributed by | The Moving Picture Institute |
Release date |
|
Running time | 26 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100,000 |
IMDb ranks the movie in the top 10 Most Popular Short movies.[2]
Story
2081 shows a dystopian future in America. Amendments to the Constitution give great power to a member of government called the United States Handicapper General (HG). The HG's job is to make sure everyone is equal in every way. In this satire that means putting weights on strong people and making beautiful people look ugly.
Cast
- Tammy Bruce as the United States Handicapper General
- Patricia Clarkson as the narrator
- James Cosmo as George Bergeron, Harrison's father. George's intelligence is far above normal, so he is forced to wear a handicap radio in his ear. This radio sends out a sharp noise every twenty seconds or so, to stop George from using his intelligence.
- Julie Hagerty as Hazel Bergeron, Harrison's mother. Hazel's intelligence is perfectly average without handicaps; she cannot think of anything except in short bursts.
- Armie Hammer as Harrison Bergeron. Harrison is a genius and a great athlete. He received both the heaviest physical handicaps and the most powerful mental handicaps of any citizen.
Production
2081 was produced for $100,000.[3] It was produced in 2009.
Release
2081 was first shown at the Seattle International Film Festival in May 2009. The film was released on DVD on January 25, 2010.
Reviews
As of January 2011, RottenTomatoes.com lists no professional reviews of 2081 and a 84% user rating.[4] The IMDB user community gave the movie a weighted average rating of 6.9 / 10.[5]
Reviewer Robert Ring described the film as "An amazing twenty-six minutes..." and that each scene adds to the one before. He said that some people would call the film an Orwellian warning. But he thinks it is better to call it a story about how important it is to be an independent person, even if that means life is terrible. He wrote, "This is a great film."[6]
Revolution Science Fiction magazine called the movie "stirring and dramatic". They added that the short movie moves quickly to the main point of the story and is a good version of the story.[7]
The movie blog Filmonic compares the film to Children of Men.[8]
References
- ↑ "Breakthematrix.com". Archived from the original on 2008-09-02. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
- ↑ "IMDb: Most Popular Short Films". IMDb.
- ↑ America's Future Foundation article on Chandler Tuttle Archived 2008-09-16 at the Wayback Machine Americasfuture.org, retrieved 2008-08-23
- ↑ "2081". 16 August 2010.
- ↑ bigboylive2008-1 (29 May 2009). "2081 (2009)". IMDb.
- ↑ 2081 Archived 2010-12-23 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 2010-01-29
- ↑ 2081, Reviewed by Joe Crowe retrieved 2010-01-29
- ↑ Liam Goodwin. "2081: Everyone Will Finally Be Equal". Filmonic. Archived from the original on 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2011-01-29.